The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

Avoid Injury When Downhauling

In the words of an OG Puffin named Dave in 1993, “don’t do that, do that!”   More specifically, use a downhaul tool of some kind when attaching or releasing your downhaul, lest your hand be injured, as happened recently to The Art of Windsurfing.   At the request of the editors, Artie is here to tell his cautionary tale.  We urge all Puffins to learn from his error and heed his wisdom!

“When Mike asked me to write about my recent windsurfing hand injury episode and its impact on my sailing, my patients, and my work, I thought, “Why in the world would I wanna tell the windsurfing community about my stupidity?” But Mike very simply stated, “Easily half of the Puffin’s traffic comes from people searching answers,” and that actually made sense to me.

On Sunday September 24, most of the human population were probably hunkered down indoors with nasty, windy, rainy weather provided by a lingering tropical storm Ophelia. I on the other hand, with about 12 other wind-addicted souls, ventured out onto the Long Island Sound via Crab Meadow Beach in Northport for a killer wind and wave-filled 2+ hour session. Honestly, the rest is a fantastic blur of down-the-line jibes on chest to head-high waves, huge starboard jumps on the tack out, and enormous swell to jibe on way outside (remember this was day three of Ophelia and with that fetch on the Sound from the east, the swell was just enormous!).

   And that was basically it: a somewhat eventful, but eventless day for me, outside of a buddy of mine, Bruce who tore his hamstring muscle jumping one of the aforementioned chest to head-high waves. Another story for another time. So, back to my truck I go and begin to de-rig my sail. The way I’ve de-rigged my sail for the past 25+ years or more. First, I wrap the outhaul line from the boom around my right hand while holding boom with my left hand, and pull with a LOT of force to release the outhaul line on the boom cleat. Then, I proceed to either hold the base of the mast extension with my left hand, or secure my foot against the mast extension, while wrapping the downhaul line around my right hand (again), and yank the (you know what) out of the line to free it from the mast extension cleat. And viola, easy-peasy. But this time, something was different, something went wrong. I felt a sharp pinch-like pain in my right hand, my working hand, thought nothing of it, strapped my board on the rack, tossed the rest of my gear in the pick-up bed, and drove the 50 minute drive home.

      
Less than two days later my hand swelled up like a catcher’s glove, and despite trying to “work through it” in my office, I found that was not happening and proceeded to have my receptionist call future patients to re-schedule them 1-2 weeks out. I’m an Endodontist, a root canal specialist, which requires intricate, detail fine finger movement…of my right hand; my working hand. This is a problem…a huge problem. I think it’s time I have an orthopedic surgeon take a look to find out just exactly what’s going on here. Turns out, I tore several carpal ligaments on the dorsal side of my hand and now have to immobilize my hand for the next 6 weeks in a hand splint, give or take a couple of weeks. Oh yeah, and by the way, no windsurfing or any physical activity requiring my right hand either; including work. Period. Not cool. Financially, emotionally, and windsurfingly speaking. Especially with the fall/winter season approaching.

So, was there a lesson learned? Absolutely. Could this have been avoided? Sure enough. Do the vast majority of us do this with the outhaul and downhaul line? I think we do. Will I approach rigging and de-rigging a little differently and use the proper rigging tool when I get my hand back? You betcha. Cause it just ain’t worth this stupid injury that’s for damn sure."

P.S.   If you are on the beach far from your chosen tool you can use this trick to make your uni a downhaul tool.  

(Photos:   Top:  Don't do that!   Middle:  Do that!   Bottom:  Alternative downhaul tool...$3 PVC tube with built in bend, sold at Home Depot.  Do that too if you like!   Photos by Artie.)     

 

Downhaul Knot Trick

This is so cool.  As discussed in a forum thread on iWindsurf, this easy to tie windsurfing downhaul knot allows you to use your mast foot (or whatever else is handy) as a downhaul handle, and when you are done, the knot just disappears...no untieing necessary.   Here are two videos showing different ways to tie it.  I prefer the Ezzy version.  Took me 30 seconds to figure out.  

I like using a cleat (which I have in the van) and even a crank if I'm fine tuning a big sail, but once I'm on the beach at The Bowl I don't want to be walking back to the cars to get the cleat (nor do I want to carry it on the water, or leave it on the beach.)   Check these out (and thanks to noshuzbluz and philodog for posting them in iWindsurf):

 

How To Self Rescue On The Water

Ted Bretter has been telling me for months about an old Windsport article that did a thorough job of explaining how to derig at sea.  He told me that it once got him out of quite a jam.  “You’ve got to find a copy,” Ted’s been saying.

Now after the Wolf’s misadventures on the Peconic (getting separated from his gear during at attempted derig) Ted reminded me again.   So I reached out to Windsport windsurfing magazine and said “Hey, a guy here says 8 years ago you had quite the article about emergency derigging...any chance you can find it and republish it?”   In less than an hour it was on Windsport’s website.

Spend some time checking out (I will be).  It is thorough.  It is Ted tested.  And it could save your gear (or your ass.)

Thank you Windsport! Good idea, Ted!

Duct Tape, WD 40, and Corona

Decision tree for the employment of WD-40 and duct tape in a waterside environment. Adapted after theft from Lord Tillerman's Proper Course.

Serious Uni Inspection (Shark Bait Avoidance Program)

After my recent shark experience I thought it was a particularly good time to inspect my unis.  I’ve always been pretty good about eyeballing them and giving them a bend to see if any cracks or rot are visible, but a post in the Live to Sail blog was taking uni inspection to the next level.  In short, Live to Sail's George (under the guidance of Lost In Hatteras' Andy) disassembled his unis to check out the portion of the tendon where the bolt passes through.

Because I worry about gear failure (and now I REALLY worry about gear failure) I actually keep a separate uni for ocean and “far from shore” sessions…it’s always my newest uni.   I save my older ones for sailing all the spots where a breakdown would be no big deal (I still inspect those unis too, mind you.)  And every few years I buy a new uni which bumps the top one down the uni heirarchy, and the oldest goes into the trash.

 I was inspired by both the shark and the Live to Sail post, so I took out my tool box and prepared to disassemble and inspect.   To my horror, the ocean uni (aka the Shark Session uni) was missing one of its retaining nuts.   The bolt holding the tendon to the bottom of the uni was being held in place by friction alone.   That was Bad.    Then I slid out the bolt to see what condition my newest tendon was in…it was cracked halfway through.

So I drove to the windsurfing shop to get parts from Jon Ford.  While installing the new tendon with my new nut, I asked Jon if it was possible to overtighten.

“Make sure its tight, but you don’t want to really crank it,” he said, about a second after I’d really cranked it, and managed to split the top of the uni.

So I ended up buying a brand new uni.  My new ocean uni.

(photo swiped from Live to Sail:  The tendon looked great until George and Andy disassembled the unit.)

Chuck Berry and a Formuline Update

In a previous post I went on about how spending $2 more on downhaul line makes a ridiculous difference in how easy any sail will rig and tune. No less than the ghost of Chuck Berry (posting as JB Goode in an iWindsurf forum) recently echoed the call:

"I can't believe how much easier it makes downhauling - I can now correctly downhaul my 10.7 race sail w/out using a downhaul tool. It has completely changed my experience of rigging and using this sail! Furthermore the line seems to be holding up well."

Make rigging a windsurfing sail faster, easier, and more accurate. Switch to the good stuff! Puffin regular Scott tells me that he's using the white line for outhauling as well as downhauling. I haven't tried this yet, but it makes sense...aside from the easier tug with those new sails that take a lot of outhaul, it might also reduce the occasional snag when derigging. This could be a good use of Formuline downhauls once they start to fray past the point of prudence (puffins love their p's!)

Recently on an older mast base extension I've noticed that if I don't make sure the line is 100% jammed into the cleat, at the end of a session there will have been a little slippage...letting out a cm or two of downhaul. So I make sure I'm all the way in there!

The Overpowered Windsurfer

What do I mean when I say I'm overpowered?

If I'm windsurfing on smaller gear in high winds, I probably mean that there's so much power in the sail that I can't manage it.  I lack the skill to stop the universe from exploding when I'm sailing a 4.0 in 35 knots.  Better men (and the Moreno twins) may be able to hold it down, but I can not.

If I'm on mid-sized or larger gear (anything from the promiscuous 5.5 on up) I don't say I'm overpowered until the sail's aerodynamics start to break down.  You can feel and hear the thing cease to be a wing providing lift as it becomes a tortured and abused shape in a gale.   A sudden increase in speed and power that, knot for knot, would scare me off of a given high-wind sail is, on bigger gear...exciting!
If gusts hitting the sail makes the rig feel like a punching bag, I'll opt for lots more downhaul to let the sail spill the bursts of power.   If the challenge is keeping the board on the water, I'll swap in a smaller fin (or even a smaller board.)   But if I'm afraid to bear off into a jibe or try a jump, it's usually time to rig down.

(I can't remember the last time I was overpowered. We're in a wind deee-rought on Long Island!)

Shove It Up Your Mast!

What windsurfing equipment can you get for $3? There used to be only one answer: a downhaul line (though I hope you're going for the better stuff) but the Peconic Puffin has discovered another item worthy of your gear bag: the drinking glass cleaner (sometimes sold as a fluted glass cleaner or bottle washer.) It's a round bit of foam rubber on the end of a plastic handle. What do you do with it? You shove it up your mast.

What it does: Wipes clean (or at least pushes up the inside of the mast) sand, mud or grit that will grind against and stick to your extension or mast ferrule.

Good question: Shouldn't I take the mast down to the water and rinse it out properly?

Equally Good answer (says the editor:) Of course you should. So should I. But if I'm rigging a few hundred yards from the beach, that may not be practical. This is a great short term solution (be sure to clean the mast later.)

Also note: If you've just a small amount of grit, sand, mud or whatever in your mast, it usually will stick to and come out with the foam rubber head.

Another question: Will it work with RDMs?

Answer: Yes.

Advanced mast cleaning tool stuff: After using one for a year or so, I became concerned that one day I might leave the foam rubber head stuck up the mast. I pulled the thing apart and found the construction illustrated in the photo, and have since added a plastic cable tie to ensure I don't end up with my head stuck up my mast.

Cut and Burn

Cutting line...downhauls, harness lines, whatever...can of course be done with razor blades, finishing the ends with a match or a cigarette lighter, thought the results are often less than great. As someone who likes tools, and who religously replaces and tweaks lines, I went in search of the perfect line cutting tool a few years ago. I think I have it worked out.

Murrays Marine sells a purpose-built tool that looks a lot like a soldering gun to me. If you already own a soldering gun you can just buy the replacement tip. I bought the replacement tip, and then went out to get Radio Shack's "Dual heat soldering gun with light" for about $25, and have been in rope-trimming bliss ever since. You laugh, but when I pull this baby out, all my friends come over and need "a quick favor." I'm packing heat.

The Rigorous Rigger: Flip It...Flip It Good

Cut your downhaul costs in half (or more than cover the costs of upgrading to Spectra)!

You already may do this and find this stupendously obvious, but most people I mention this to had never thought of it before, including a pro windsurfer whose jaw dropped when I explained it: You can get twice the life out of a downhaul line by flipping it.

It's simple: The only section of a downhaul line that wears out is also the only same section that needs to be able to handle hundreds of pounds of tension: the first 12-18". You can remove a downhaul line that's starting to show excessive wear (photo, left) from your mast extension, cut off the knot, flip the line, and reattach it to your extension, and now the portion of the downhaul that's running over the pulleys and going into the cleat when you're fully downhauled is in nearly brand new condition (photo, right). Now each downhaul can be used twice as long.
If you're particularly conservation-minded, cheap, poor, or otherwise enthusiastic about such strategies, there's more. Once your downhaul line is worn at both ends, you can use the four good feet in the middle for an outhaul, where the stresses are a fraction of what they are to the downhaul or inhaul. Don't forget to check your inhauls while you're at it! And even the little bits of safety retaining line on your unis, if they use them. Having line break on the water is a drag, if not downright dangerous depending on which line, the conditions you're sailing in, and where you are.

Easier Downhauling Can Be Yours

Welcome to the first installment of The Rigorous Rigger, where our motto is "I may not sail too good, but I rig REAL good!"

My ability to downhaul a sail has improved dramatically in the last few years, despite my getting older and tireder, due to two changes I've made in how I do it.

BIG TRICK #1: Rig like Robbie rigs, and use the newfangled downhaul threading pattern that manufacturers recommend.

It's astonishing to me how much easier downhauling is with this threading pattern, compared to what I'll call the "spiral" where you just make sure that the lines never cross over one another. A side benefit has been that since it's less backbreaking to downhaul, it encourages me to make more subtle adjustments to the downhaul, helping me get the sail tuned real good. So: Less friction, easier to downhaul, easier to adjust, and once you use this pattern a few times, it's easy to remember. (I learned this from the pamphlet that came with one of my Naish sails which is where "fig. 1" came from.)

BIG TRICK #2: Switch to Spectra or Formuline for your downhaul line. Back in 2005 I was in the Avon Sail Shop in Cape Hatteras, listening to Margaret explain why my friends and I should spend twice as much money on our downhaul line (spectra was stronger, it would last longer etc.) I was unmoved by the pitch, but I liked the shop so much I bought two for the heck of it. A month later I needed to replace a downhaul, did so with my new pricey Spectra, rigged up and noticed immediately how much more easily the sail downhauled. A sail that I used to have to finish downhauling with a crank now was no problem to downhaul solely with a cleat! Margaret didn't say "THEY'RE WAY EASIER TO DOWNHAUL" but they sure are. If you ever thought of putting a lubricant on your line (which is probably a bad idea) don't bother...these lines slide as if they're pre-lubed.

It's still worth noting that a downhaul crank will save your back and mine from stress and potential injury. I just find the above to make the entire process easier and more enjoyable.

ADDITION March 27: Andreas Macke recommends giving your downhaul line a rub with an old candle every five or six sessions. He has more thoughts at the bottom of this rigging post.

(Thank you Dee Imbert, star of Ghost Stories, The Search for One-Eyed Jimmy, and the windsurfing cult microclassic The Ginsu Fin for naming The Rigorous Rigger.)